Explosive Memories (7 page)

Walking around to the front of one of the structures, he rubbed the back of his sweaty neck as images of her lying naked beneath him swirled in his mind’s eye.

This line of thinking was only going to have him busting down her door, and that was not a good idea. Shaking off the memories, he entered the barn to check on Sierra. Having rescued her at a young age from an abusive home, the mare was his pride and joy. The horse stood quiet and solid, glancing at him as he invaded her sanctuary.

Placing his forearms on the ledge of the stall door, Trent watched the colt nurse. A new life, content, and at peace with the world. What did that feel like? Never having given his future much thought, he possessed no idea what he wanted out of life. His goals, much like his brothers’, harbored around keeping the ranch strong and profitable. Though Nick’s main focus shifted when he met Darcy, Sam and Chris’s priorities stayed the same. But what about when they met someone?

Suddenly, the idea of keeping the same mundane pace for the next sixty or so years caused restlessness to edge along his spine. The ranch was his sanctuary, his…

Who the hell was he kidding? He wanted more. Wanted to be happy. Wanted…Jordan, and he’d be damned if he knew why.

Hearing the crunch of boots, he glanced over his shoulder.

Nick held out Trent’s black Stetson. “Figured you’d miss this.”

“Thanks.” He took the hat and put it on his head before turning his attention back to the horses. “Looks like the little fella’s fairing pretty well. There were times I wondered if we’d get this far.”

“You’ve spent a lot of time with her.” His brother thumped a thumb on the ledge of the stall, then turned to rest against the door, arms folded over his chest. “How ’bout you and Jordan?”

“That’s none of your business.” His family, the ever-meddling bunch. You’d think his brothers were a flock of hens since Darcy arrived on the ranch.

Sierra nudged his arm, and he reached out to rub her muzzle.

“Look, if it were up to me, I’d stay out of it and let you work out whatever mess you got your ass in, but Darcy’s chomping at the bit. I had to ’bout hog tie her to keep her in the house.”

That he’d like to see. “Sounds like your problem, not mine.” He extracted a treat out of his pocket and fed the mare.

“Jordan’s Darcy’s best friend, and she’s worried about her.”

“Then go talk to her and leave me the hell alone.” Irritated, he didn’t bother to stop his voice from raising.

Nick smiled and rubbed his chin. “It’s about time something lit a spark under your carcass.”

“What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“You’ve moped around this place for two years, hardly smiling, never yelling. You talk in monotone and move with the speed of a snail.”

“So.”

“So, Jordan shows up and bam, you’re alive. Cursing and yelling at me. Yanking her out the door.” The eldest chuckled. “Must have been a shock to see her.”

He was alive all right and scared spitless of the raw emotions rushing through him. Just the sound of her name caused his heart to pound. But he’d never confess such a thing to his brother.

“I can see why April felt threatened,” his brother said in a low tone.

“It was one night.” One damn night his girlfriend had thrown in his face for four long, hellish years—even though she hadn’t technically been his girlfriend at that point.

He and April had split up a month prior to his neighbor’s bonfire. Yet, she’d harassed him on a daily basis, followed him everywhere—even to that party, where she paraded around laughing in a drunken stupor, throwing wood on the fire, and pouring gasoline into the already blazing flame. He tried getting her under control and asked her to leave, which only led to a huge blow out before a friend finally took pity on him and escorted her home, or so he thought.

He’d been shocked when he found out she refused to leave that night and witnessed him and Jordan together. She’d watched them skinny dipping and enjoying each other. Boy, he caught hell for that incident. And being a sucker, he felt horrible for hurting her—even if unintentional—and somehow ended up back in the relationship with the monster. For years, he dealt with her emotional roller coaster, believing he was at fault, and she’d thrown that event in his face during every fight they had, which occurred daily.

Six years. Had it really been that long since he slept with Jordan? Hell, he could still feel her satiny skin, smell her sweet scent, hear the soft sounds she made as he tasted her body. All the memories April tried to tarnish. He shook his head.

Pushing off the stall, Trent started out of the barn and blinked at the night sky.

“You and Jordan definitely have the heat factor going on, I’ll give you that. I waited for the smoke alarms to go off.”

“Go to hell.” He knew Nick pushed to get a rise out of him, but instead of retaliating, he hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans and sauntered toward the cabins.

“Maybe you should go for it, work off some of that tension.”

Heat burned up his spine. What the hell had gotten into him? He had never known anyone in his family to be outright rude, but to insinuate he should use Jordan that way…

“Or did you piss her off enough that she won’t let you back in her bed?”

Not able to hold back any longer, Trent lunged. “You son of a…” Hands fisted, he ran at Nick, taking him down. He swung, but missed when his brother veered to the right then left.

Although he made contact a time or two, the jerk did nothing but restrain him, albeit unsuccessfully.

“Is this what’ll make you feel better? Fighting me? Hell, why didn’t you say so? We could’ve done this months ago.”

“Back off, Nick.” He had no clue why he was mad, but the release felt damn good.

“I know what happened with you and April. I heard her tirades.”

“Shut up.” Lying flat on his back with Nick sitting on him, Trent pushed to dislodge the bulky meat-head but failed. His stupid shoulder refused to exert the strength.

“We
all
heard her outbursts.”

Not able to free his hands and cover his ears, he shook his head, wanting to block out the words. God, he assumed they had witnessed the fights, but prayed he was wrong. The things that flew out of her mouth were embarrassing in themselves, some truths, some not. He wasn’t sure which bothered him more, the lies or the details she revealed, usually intimate ones spouted in jealousy—how he paid attention to that other woman when she spoke, the way he touched her when they caressed, the way he held her in the pond. April had seen it all and made sure all of Amarillo heard her when she screamed the accusations. If she hadn’t threatened to kill herself anytime he broke it off, begging him to understand how much she loved him until guilt ate at him and he gave in, he wouldn’t have turned a blind eye to the problem for so long. Having his girlfriend live on the ranch when her apartment complex burned to the ground was the second biggest mistake he’d made—the first being the proposal. Every one of his relatives witnessed her temper-tantrums at one point or another. The fact she’d approached each member claiming Trent “ignored her” bore no help.

The recollection gave him enough fuel to struggle and manage to extract his hand out from under a leg and land one last punch to his brother’s eye.

“Son of a…” Nick hit him in the jaw.

Stunned by the contact, he shook away the stars dancing in his head. “You jackass.” He thrashed his body from one side to the other, but got nowhere.

Using all of his weight to hold him, his captor chuckled. “God, it’s good to see you alive again, but are we done now? I’m getting to old for this shit.”

Was he?
Yes. Damn it.
After all, he wasn’t mad at the ox sitting on his chest. He was angry at himself for missing the signs with April, and for letting Lynn—Jordan—walk out of his life that morning.

“Yeah.” He relaxed his body to prove his words. “Yeah, I’m good.”

His opponent got up and extended a hand.

Accepting the assistance, Trent rose to his feet and rubbed his jaw as an uneasy feeling settled in his gut. That last night, when he came home after picking up a bull from Lubbock, April accused him of going to see a Jordan. Before he got a chance to ask who Jordan was, his fiancée drew a gun and shot him, twice. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital groggy from surgery. He hadn’t even known a Jordan, until now…was there a connection?

“It’ll do you no good trying to figure April out,” Nick stated, fingering the skin around his eye.

“I gave that up a long time ago.” Wondering if his black-haired beauty was awake, he glanced at the first cabin. One small light shown in the window, but he couldn’t make out any movement.

A hand touched his shoulder. “Put some ice on that.” His brother nodded toward his face.

“You, too.”

Trent shook his head and ambled off toward his own bungalow for what he figured would be a restless night’s sleep. The past floated around his head, starting with a raven-haired beauty dancing in the moonlight.

****

Jordan tossed and turned until she fell into a fretful slumber. Memories circled in and out of her dreams…
Trent’s lips on her neck, sliding down her body, biting her nipples, licking the beaded pebbles. His heart beating fast under her palm as she ran her hand up and over his chest, the thin, course hair ticking her skin.

Her mother’s face came into view. “Don’t go out again. You just got home.”

“Jordan Lynn!” her father bellowed out the living room window. “You better be home by midnight, young lady.”

Then heat, scorching heat on her skin. Smoke choking her very breath.

Jordan shot up, coughing, and with a shaking hand, reached for the water next to her bed on the nightstand. The clock blinked bright in the darkened room. Four a.m.

Stretching out on the mattress, she concentrated on her breathing. In through her nose, out through her mouth. Her pulse beat loud in her ears. If she lay here long enough, maybe the anxiety in her chest would go away.

At five, she gave up and yanked on a pair of tan dress shorts with a thin fuchsia shirt.
Keep busy
. That was the next step. By seven, she paced the cabin. At eight, the walls closed in, and she slipped into a pair of brown flip flops and wandered outside.

The sounds of the ranch broke the silence screaming in her head. A cow mooed, answered by two more. The horses whinnied to each other, and the sheep rounded off the morning chatter. The golden dog ran, barking as it chased after one of the cowboys on horseback.

While the atmosphere was great for relaxing, if her days contained nothing but sitting around and watching the others work, she’d go mad. A person could relax for only so long. Maybe she should accept Darcy’s job offer, but was that the wisest choice? Yes, the ranch was beautiful, and it would mean a paycheck…but it would also involve being in constant contact with Trent.

She walked over to the tree line and found an inviting path leading into the woods. Should she venture inside the unfamiliar forest? Certainly a walk would be better than the alternative of sitting here doing nothing. And if she did accept Darcy and Nick’s offer, she’d have to familiarize herself with the layout of the land, so why not get a head start.

Not wanting to get lost, she kept to the trail, careful not to trip on any branches. Her shoe apparel provided little protection against the hazards of the root and twig carpet. As she roamed deeper into the forest, a calming silence wrapped her in a cocoon, and she wondered aimlessly down the aisle, glancing around for any wildlife. Exercise was definitely what she’d needed. Her heart felt light. No heaviness rested on her chest or shoulders. Serenity surrounded her, giving her a clear head to consider her options.

While taking the job would help her financial situation and boredom, dealing with Trent on a daily basis might be more than she could handle. And she refused to be naïve in thinking she’d be able to avoid him. The fact he lived here forced contact by its own violation, but was she capable of keeping the encounters to a minimum? Could she keep him at arm’s length and…?

Ha. Who am I kidding?
One touch of those sinful lips and she’d melt.

Heat from the sun beamed in through an opening of the trees, and she edged closer to a drop off. Birds chirped, flying high over a ravine. At the bottom, a creek ran the middle of the crevasse and opened into an oval pond. On the other side sat a rundown shack.

Gravity shifted under her feet, and Jordan grabbed the sapling next to her, hoping the tree spanned big enough to lend support. Was that the place she spent the night in Trent’s arms?

No wonder she never found the hut. How had he driven to the site? Was there a road? A trail? She squinted in the bright light. A mosquito landed on her neck, another on her arm. Smacking at the blood suckers, she backed away.

Maybe Darcy knew a better way—she swatted another bug from her cheek—and knew where to get a bottle of insect repellant. Retracing her steps, she made her way back to the ranch.

“Hey, where’d you run off to?” Chris asked as he came from Nick’s cabin.

“Just took a long walk.” She bit her tongue to keep from asking him about the shack. What if the family didn’t want anyone snooping around? Or worse, what if he insisted on going with her? She needed to do this alone. “Have you seen Darcy?”

He nodded. “She’s working on the guest cabins. Come on, I’m headed that way.”

“You sure it’s okay to interrupt?” she asked, falling into step beside him.

“You kidding? We’re pretty laid back around here, especially when there’s not many guests, and knowing Darc, she’d love the break.”

Glancing his way, she smiled. Chris made her feel comfortable. He had a relaxed way about him. He stood tall with a grin on his lips even when he wasn’t looking in her direction.

“I hear you and Trent are old friends.”

“A long time ago.”

“He hasn’t changed much.” The youngest Matthews shrugged. “I mean, he’s more guarded nowadays, but he’s always kept to himself.”